This invention relates, in general, to the field of glove design and, more particularly, to an improved design for an open fingered glove structure, where the traditional attachment of the palm piece to the back piece through the use of fourchettes is eliminated and, instead, the stability of the attachment of the glove parts is provided by the use of strips of a stretchable elastic fabric, such as spandex, sold under the trademark LYCRA, leather or other traditional materials. Using such a construction, structural integrity may be maintained while permitting an opening to exist at the crotch and inside of each finger, thereby providing for increased cooling of the hand.
In the field of wearing apparel, gloves have been developed in many styles for use in a variety of applications, while being manufactured using an assortment of construction techniques. Traditionally, gloves have been used to protect the hands of the wearer. Certain kinds of gloves have been designed for protection from the elements, while other gloves have been designed primarily as decorative elements, and have been worn mainly for show. A whole class of specialized gloves have also been developed for use in certain types of sporting events. Many of these specialized gloves, such as those for bicycle riding, golf, tennis, racquetball and the like.
In general, a glove usually consists of a number of parts, including: a palm piece, a back piece and a thumb piece. In practice it is necessary to join, or otherwise seal, the parts around their circumference, including the parts which make up the sides of the hand as well as each of the fingers, in order to complete construction of the glove. However, since the human hand is not a regular shape, but rather, complex where fingers are wider and thicker at their base than near their tips and vary in geometry as the fingers and hand are flexed, it is important to cut the patterns and assemble the parts in such a way that the glove fits the hand properly whether released or clasped without being too loose at the fingertips or too tight in the crotch of the fingers.
To accomplish this, an number of techniques have been designed and implemented.
The first is a Two Piece Pattern Technique. Using this technique, the fingers of the glove are made exceptionally wide to provide sufficient volume at the base of the fingers. This method is frequently used in the manufacture of plastic protective gloves, waterproof inserts made from a material such as GORETEX.RTM., and some cotton knitted gloves used for industrial purposes. This technique makes for unwieldy gloves which are not suitable for precision activities.
A second is the Fourchette Pattern Technique. Using this technique, the back and palm parts of the glove are coupled with three fourchettes, or 'forks', provided between the fingers to form the sides of fingers two and three, three and four and four and five). In addition, small pieces called Quirks are added in the crotch. This is a very expensive, time consuming and precise glove construction. It also requires a tight attention to the glove separation sewing assembly.
A third technique is the Gunn Cut Technique. Using this technique, either the back part or the palm part is cut using a normal pattern and the opposing part is cut with increased volume in the area of the fifth, or "baby" finger and second, or "index" finger, with the middle and fourth fingers making up a gunn section which is added.
A fourth technique is the Clute Pattern Technique. Using this technique, the parts which make up the finger portions of the back part of the glove are cut with an increased volume and then attached to the palm part.
In each of the above described construction techniques the fingers are attached to the palm and back parts across the tips of the fingers, down the side of each finger (as well as along the outer edge of the thumb and baby finger, and down through the crotch between each of the fingers. A modification to this attachment construction sometimes occurs when the fourchette pattern technique is used. According to this modification an extra wedge, or diamond shaped piece of material, called a QUIRK , is inserted into the crotch on the back of the fourchette between second and third, third and fourth, and fourth and fifth fingers. This additional material adds to the dimension of the fingers and provides a better fit according to the shape of the wedge that lies at the base of the fingers between the palm and the back.
Unfortunately, while this technique works well in the manufacture and construction of fine dress gloves, it is not often suitable for the manufacture of other types of gloves. In particular, in the development of gloves used in sports, such as golf gloves, which have traditionally been manufactured on dress glove patterns, since the cutting and incorporation of the quirk is expensive and time consuming, as well as making the assembly of the glove parts more difficult, it has usually been eliminated. This results in the base of the fourchette being left open and the crotch at the back of the hand remaining unattached to the glove, reducing stability. On the other hand, if, in a sporting glove, the quirk is used, more exact measurements must be made during cutting and assembly and additional fine stitching within the crotch of the glove, reducing the efficiency of glove manufacture and increasing cost.
Accordingly, it has been determined that a need exists for an improved open fingered glove design permitting connection between the palm and back parts of a glove without the use of fourchettes and/or quirks, without the required special separation of the palm and back pieces, and which provides for structural stability ,while being simple and inexpensive to manufacture.